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The Phillies Zone

There will be no Phillies MVP three-peat.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has been named this year's National League MVP. Ryan Howard finished second.

Pujols received 18 first-place votes, 10 second place votes, two third-place votes, one fourth-place vote and one seventh-place vote to finish with 369 points. Howard received 12 first-place votes, eight second-place votes, six third-place votes, one fifth-place vote, one sixth-place vote, two seventh-place votes and one 10th place vote to finish with 308 points.

In the end, I think Howard's .251 average sunk him. No MVP in either league has hit less than .267, which Marty Marion did in 1944. I personally think Howard should have been MVP. He led the majors in home runs and RBIs. He played great when it mattered the most. His team made the postseason. Pujols had an incredible year, but for a fourth-place team.

Interestingly, Brad Lidge, who finished eighth with 104 points, was the only other player to receive first-place votes.

Chase Utley finished 15th.

Pujols said in 2006, when he finished second to Howard, that Howard didn't deserve to win because the Phillies didn't make the playoffs. Pujols said he was misquoted (or something) and said Howard did deserve to win. He was asked today about that.

“Thanks for opening the door that was already shut,” Pujols said. “I said it in 2006. That guy misunderstood my words. And what I said is the players who take their teams to the playoffs should have some consideration to win the MVP. Obviously, Howard had the numbers that year, just like I had it (this year). His team was in the playoff race until the last week of the season, so I think the writers made the right choice in 2006. He did deserve it. He hit over .300. He hit 58 homers. He had a great year, just like I had, and that’s just how it is.”

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The Phillies have fired minor-league field coordinator Bill Dancy, who had been the Phillies' third base coach from 2005-06. Mike Compton will take Dancy's place.

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The Phillies officially announced they have hired Scott Proefrock as assistant general manager to Ruben Amaro Jr.